1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a firelog and a fireplace grate. More particularly, the invention relates to a firelog which is held by a fireplace grate in a substantially upright orientation. Specifically, the invention relates to an elongated artificial firelog having a support surface and a fireplace grate having a support member that contacts the support surface to carry the artificial firelog in a substantially upright orientation.
2. Background of the Invention
Various types of artificial firelogs have been developed and are well understood in the relevant art. These artificial firelogs are typically intended for use in domestic fireplaces to produce aesthetically pleasing fires. The principal and by far most common use is in a domestic fireplace to provide an attractive fire closely simulating a natural wood fire without the work and mess ordinarily associated with wood-fueled fires.
Such artificial firelogs are typically formed of a particulate combustible material such as sawdust or coal particles which is combined with a binder material such as paraffin, with the mixture being compressed into a predetermined and desirable shape. Other materials may, of course, be used and are well known and understood in the relevant art. Moreover, these artificial firelogs may contain various additives to enhance burning or to produce colored flames, thereby enhancing the attractiveness of the resultant fire.
Artificial firelogs are typically manufactured in a continuous extrusion process wherein the particulate combustible material is combined with an appropriate binder and other additives, with the mixture being compressed within an extrusion bore. The extruded stream exiting the bore is then typically cut to predetermined sizes and placed into protective wrappers. Other processes for manufacturing artificial firelogs are likewise known and understood in the relevant art.
These artificial firelogs are typically placed by the consumer onto a fireplace grate for burning thereon. A fireplace grate is a body which supports burning members above the ground and allows for enhanced airflow underneath the burning members to promote combustion thereof. Such fireplace grates typically contain a horizontal surface upon which the fire is built, with the horizontal surface having a plurality of holes or elongated channels to allow the air to flow therethrough. Fireplace grates are typically manufactured of a material suited to withstand the heat of a fire such as steel or cast iron.
Inasmuch as such artificial firelogs are intended primarily to produce an aesthetically pleasing fire, new methods of utilizing artificial firelogs to produce a more attractive or aesthetically pleasing fire are continually sought. Some of the methods employed include the formation of artificial firelogs in new and unique shapes intended to more closely simulate a real wood fire. Other methods have involved the use of multiple artificial firelogs stacked one upon another to produce a similar effect.
Such efforts to improve the aesthetic qualities of fires made with artificial firelogs have not, however, been without problems. The use of multiple artificial firelogs creates a significant amount of heat, which can potentially result in damage to the fireplace grate, flues, and dampers. Moreover, excess heat can make an otherwise attractive fire undesirable. Additionally, many artificial firelogs are designed to burn individually, and the use of such firelogs in groups may result in improper burning of the firelogs.
The use of multiple stacked firelogs can additionally result in instability of the fire due to the consumption of the firelogs during the burning process, with the result that partially burned firelogs can tend to collapse and fall amongst themselves, presenting in an unsafe situation which should be avoided. While fireplace grates are often designed with one or more upturned edges intended to inhibit burning members from rolling off the grate, such upturned edges are not always effective against the rolling of large, heavy, burning artificial firelogs.
When conventional artificial firelogs known in the art are burned, combustion occurs on all externally exposed surfaces. When a portion of the burning firelog is obstructed from view, such as the rear of the firelog, that portion of the firelog burns needlessly as it cannot be observed. Moreover, that portion of the firelog needlessly generates heat.
The need thus exists for a firelog and/or fireplace grate that enhances the aesthetic beauty of a fire, that is safe to use, and that generates little or no unnecessary heat.